BFG 9000

BFG 9000

Series	Doom series
First game	Doom (1993)
Designed by	Adrian Carmack Kevin Cloud

The BFG 9000 is a futuristic weapon found in the video game series Doom. The BFG 9000 is a huge, solid metal gun that fires balls of green plasma. The most powerful weapon in the games, it is capable of destroying nearly any player or enemy in the vicinity with a single hit. Quake II and Quake III Arena pay homage to the BFG 9000 with a pair of similar weapons both called the BFG10K, although the Quake III Arena version acts more like a rapid-fire plasma launcher than a single shot mass destruction device.

Names

The abbreviation BFG stands for "Big Fucking Gun" as described in Tom Hall's original Doom design document. In the Doom II user manual, BFG is said to stand for "Big Fragging Gun". Another name, according to the motion picture, is "Bio Force Gun" (although in the movie itself, "Big Fucking Gun" is spoken as it comes into view). In the Quake II manual it says it stands for "Big, uh, freakin’ gun".

Critical reception

UGO.com ranked the BFG 9000 at number two on their Top 50 Video Game Weapons of All Time list (the top spot was jokingly awarded to the 4x1 Line from Tetris). In the article they noted the strategic effect of the weapon, stating "It was marvelous and complex, and we should not hesitate to put this weapon down in history as one of the best." X-Play ranked it number one on their Top 10 Badass Weapons list, stating that while "not as fancy as the gravity gun", it was the first weapon that "really made us swoon". IGN editor Tom McNamara listed the BFG as one of the ten best weapons in video games, placing it at number ten. Machinima.com named it number one on their list of Top Ten Video Game Weapons, stating "Do you really need a reason why this tops the list?"

See also

• Leyden ball
• Raygun
• Needlegun
• Phased plasma gun
• Plasma rifle

External links

• The BFG 9000 FAQ
• Information on the BFG 9000